


Wolves

by Hikari_and_Yami



Series: Blood On The Leaves [2]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Blindshipping, Gangsta, M/M, Sequel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-11
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-07-23 00:43:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7459959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hikari_and_Yami/pseuds/Hikari_and_Yami
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He looked like a sheep, but Atemu knew better.</p><p>He could sense his own kind, after all.</p><p>- Sequel to Loyal -</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Atemu hopes that if he glares at the fucking _rat_ for long enough, it will just explode in a grand eruption of black fur and blood.

It’s been staring at him now for five minutes, sitting in the threshold of his study, white-spotted tail curled around its tiny body. It watches him and tests every ounce of his patience, of which there is so very little these days. 

It refuses to leave despite his threats to skin it alive. 

It doesn't budge and isn't bothered by Atemu's oath to dismember it if it doesn't vacate his study immediately.

With each instance that the cat ignores him, Atemu feels his temper rising.

He throws a pen at it, misses, and the feline’s eyes glint, and Atemu knows that it's mocking him.

It’s been three months since he brought it into his house, and Atemu has finally had _enough_ of its shit.

No matter what he does, he knows he'll regret it, Yuugi will _make sure_ of that, but he doesn't care at the moment, because he's too fucking annoyed to care.

Atemu stands to his feet, and his desk chair slides back behind him with the movement. He takes a few steps and opens up the doors that lead out into the patio. He tsks, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth as he beckons the curious kitten to the great wonders of the outdoors, where it will hopefully perish.

“What are you doing?”

Yuugi appears out of hell, probably, and comes to stand behind the kitten in the doorway, a glare set neatly on his beautiful face.

The feline is delighted to see her owner. It nuzzles against Yuugi’s ankles. Looks up at the boy with big green eyes and meows.

Tells on Atemu.

“I needed some fresh air,” Atemu says simply, returning to his desk. He sits and shuffles through his papers. Makes himself look busy. 

Yuugi bends down at the waist and gathers his cat into his arms. “Is that so?” Yuugi gazes up and smiles at Atemu, but it is _not_ a friendly gesture. “You wouldn’t happen to be trying to get rid of Bella, now would you?”

“Of course not, dear.”

Yuugi hums. “Well, that’s good,” he says, scratching the kitten's neck, right under her chin. “Because it’d be a shame if you woke up tomorrow morning without your cock.”

The cat is grinning at him, like she’s won, and Atemu vows to hang it from the rafters one day.

“Don’t threaten me, Yuugi, or you'll both be living on the streets."

Yuugi scoffs at Atemu and kisses the top of his cat’s head. Puts her down and sends her on her way.

He walks into the study then, even though he wasn’t invited in, and plants his hands down on the surface of Atemu's desk.

He leans forward and smiles. “So, I heard you need a date for the charity banquet tomorrow night," he says. 

Atemu ignores him the best he can and tries to focus on his paperwork. “You are well aware that Mai is coming with me." He speaks the words carefully, because he knows that this has been a point of contention between them the past two weeks. 

“Rumor has it that she won’t be able to make it,” Yuugi tells him with a lift of his shoulders. “Something about being tied up.”

Atemu drags his gaze from his papers up to Yuugi’s heart-shaped face. “I haven't heard anything about that."

Yuugi blinks. “Oh, yeah,” he says. “I haven’t spread the rumor yet.”

Atemu sits back in his chair and stares at him. He understands now. “Yuugi – “

“Atemu.”

Yuugi is _not_ sorry, and it’s clear in his tone that this is Atemu's fault. 

Atemu should’ve known better, he should’ve asked Yuugi to accompany him, but he didn't because he didn't want to bring a ticking time bomb to a crowded gathering of powerful investors and political figureheads. 

Yuugi doesn't care much for his reasoning though.

All he knows is that Atemu hurt his feelings, and so whatever happened next is Atemu's doing. 

Atemu exhales, hisses out a quiet  _fuck_ , and pins Yuugi with the same kind of annoyed glare he had subjected the cat to earlier. “Fine. Let her go. If she’s even still alive. You can come tomorrow night, but _only_ if you are on your best behavior. I swear to God, Yuugi, I’ll skin that cat alive and make you watch if you try anything cute.”

But Yuugi is the epitome of cute, especially in this moment when he is all smiles, positively joyful at the invitation he just extorted out of Atemu. 

He leans in, kisses the elder man with nearly laughing lips, and then totters off, back to hell, probably.  

Atemu sighs and flips open his laptop to look into retirement homes, because, seriously, fuck this, he's too old for this shit. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dedicated to furin-art, for their beautiful fanart found here ---> http://furin-art.tumblr.com/image/147126120243


	2. Chapter 2

Yuugi doesn’t much like the dress code for Kaiba Corp’s annual charity banquet, but after some _literal_ arm-twisting, the younger man agrees to don a black pair of slacks.

He’d rather Atemu take off his arm though then agree to wear the silk dress shirt that one of the maids picked out for him, so he wears a washed-out violet t-shirt instead. One that brings out the color of his eyes and reveals his prominent collarbone and the smooth, pale skin of his arms.

Yuugi’s shirts are always too big, and the tiny sleeves always fall off the curves of his shoulders. The way he looks now, with a tiny smile plastered on his face and his eyes aglow with mischievous delight, it's enough to send molten waves of hot lust down into the belly of whoever sets their sights to him.

Katsuya accompanies them as well, for no other reason than to keep Yuugi preoccupied just in case the boy gets bored.

A bored Yuugi is a dangerous one.

Because when Yuugi's bored, his mind wanders.

It searches for triggers, for reasons to dabble in some mayhem, for opportunities to release his inner rage that still seeks revenge for what happened to him. 

So, he'll think of Bella, sad and alone at the house, or of being raped repeatedly on a cold, wet floor, or of the fact that Atemu didn't get him ice cream last week even though he _promised_ , and he'll think 'why yes, it would be hilarious to sprinkle some rat poison onto the treats lining the desert table and watch everyone in the room vomit their insides out onto the pristine floor.'

So, Atemu brings Katsuya to keep Yuugi busy, but it’s really more of a formality, because if Yuugi decides to orchestrate a mass murder, then the blond man will probably be the first one to go.

Atemu thinks, in the recesses of his mind that cares for such trivial thoughts, that Yuugi secretly has a tender spot for Katsuya.

Not in the same way he cares for Ryou, for the sad, quiet, broken things in life.  

He assumes instead that Yuugi is somewhat bonded to Katsuya because of the care the amber-eyed man offered him during those first few weeks following his arrival in Atemu's home; back when everyone was still evil, when everybody was still a threat to Yuugi, when everyone was out to hurt him, except Katsuya who brought him blankets and food and didn't try to fuck him until he bled. 

This is why Katsuya is such a target, Atemu reasons, because Yuugi doesn't like feeling attached to another person. It makes him feel weak, Atemu knows, and Yuugi hates feeling weak because he had spent his whole fucking life a little weakling.

So he must've resented Katsuya for reigniting those feelings of vulnerability.

Resented Atemu, too.

Ten-fold. 

This explains why Yuugi has tried to kill him in the past; explains why Atemu has woken up to a pillow pressed against his face and a knife to his throat.

It also explains why Yuugi has always looked confused upon Atemu waking; explains why Yuugi appeared angry  _because_  he was confused, because he was hesitating, because he could never follow through, and he didn't know why. 

Yuugi had killed many times before, and he didn't care, because he didn't know how to anymore. 

But with Atemu, he always faltered, because as much as Yuugi felt alone in this world, he didn't want to be.

For a long time, Yuugi was a man who felt nothing, who loved nothing, who knew nothing but agony for _years_.

But now, he suddenly knows and is known by someone.

By Atemu. 

Atemu knows him.

Atemu _is_ him.

They are the same; broken men with sharp, jagged edges that cut into anyone who gets too close, deep enough to draw blood, deep enough to maybe even kill. 

And yet, they still stand by each other, close, because they like the pain, the blood, the scars, and they like to touch each other with hands stained red and kiss each other with lips that taste like copper.

They cut into each other, even as they reach out to give each other the remnants of what used to be their hearts but are now only shards of what once was. 

* * *

Yuugi is on his _best_ behavior throughout the evening. 

He is a beautiful mess stringed together to create a brilliant man with eyes that can break hearts and steal souls, but also steal hearts and break souls. 

Women and men want him in their beds, want his skin warming theirs. They reach out to him with hands, and he shakes them and smiles, says polite things, and Atemu appears like the rude one with parted lips and a slack jaw as he watches.

He doesn’t know what Yuugi's up to (or what he wants from him), but he doesn't trust Yuugi, he never trusts him because he knows that he is not the sheep he appears to be. 

But Atemu also knows that Yuugi is his night and day, his demise, he is what his dreams and his nightmares are made out of and, after two years, Atemu has finally comes to terms with how irreplaceable Yuugi is.

That being said, Atemu has refused to allow Yuugi to use this knowledge against him. As he taught Yuugi two months ago, no matter his attachment to the boy, his ribs will still crack and his skin will still bruise if he steps out of line.

Atemu can keep him around regardless if he can walk or not.

Yuugi doesn’t need both kneecaps to feel warm at night.

Invading both his thoughts and his line of vision, Atemu watches as Pegasus - a wealthy CEO with ties extending farther than Atemu's own - approaches his little black widow. 

Atemu cannot hear them from where he stands, but he can see a finger slide over the round of Yuugi's shoulder, and he can imagine the husky tone in Pegasus' voice. 

Atemu usually doesn't care for who Yuugi takes to bed, but he feels his nerves grinding against his bones at the possessive gleam in Pegasus' eyes. He doesn't like his hands on Yuugi's body, his voice in Yuugi's ears, and while he has no intention on making powerful enemies, something about Pegasus makes Atemu want to bathe in his blood. 

The successful business owner has been seeking out a partnership with Atemu for the better part of a year now, but their brief encounters always leaves Atemu's gut advising him otherwise. There was something about the elder man, something in his demeanor that reminded Atemu of snakes and traitors, and Atemu opted for keeping the man at arm's reach. 

But now that arm is snaking around Yuugi's waist, and Atemu is more than happy to cut it off at the shoulder and hang it above his fireplace. 

"I can give you anything you want," Atemu hears the elder man say as he strides towards them, across the grand ballroom floor. 

Yuugi seems vaguely interested in this. “Can you give me the world?” he asks, absentmindedly, as he picks a cupcake from the desert table. 

“But of course.”

Yuugi hums, stains his lips with pink frosting, and Atemu pushes down the desire to bend Yuugi over the table and do awful things to him that Yuugi would no doubt enjoy. 

“Pegasus.”

Atemu’s voice is a boot to the back of the head of someone who is biting a curb.

Yuugi spares him a glance over his shoulder. "Hello, darling," he says, and Atemu can see the glint in his eyes, the warm nonchalance for every life in this room. 

"Yuugi, dear," Atemu murmurs. He tucks a stray golden bang behind Yuugi's ear. "Why don't you go join the rest of the party?"

Atemu kisses him on the cheek, and Yuugi purrs like that fucking cat that's probably sleeping on his furniture back at the house.

"Okay," Yuugi agrees, because he wants something - oh, he definitely wants something for this act he's putting on. 

Following instructions, Yuugi leaves the adults to their boring conversations and wanders off. 

Katsuya follows him silently. 

“I must say, Yuugi looks more and more stunning each time I see him - which is far too seldom. You should bring him to these events more often; share him with us. Such a sweet boy you have there.”

Atemu takes a sip of his scotch and hums around the rim of his glass. “So sweet he'll rot your teeth out,” he comments. 

“Oh?" Pegasus says. "You should appreciate him more, lest he wander.”

 _Into your bed_ , Atemu understands. "He'd come back," he tells him.  

"Perhaps." Pegasus casts him a glance under a curtain of silver hair. "We should talk business, Atemu. Kaiba continues to speak highly of you during our meetings. I'd like to consider... investing in some of your expenditures."

Atemu surveys the crowd of people gathered in the center of the room, mingling and merry. "I am hesitant to take on new clients at the moment," he lies. 

"Oh, come now, dear boy, let's not play any games here, hm?" Pegasus says, amused. "You need more investors to fund your operations, and I am always in the market for a new ally. This can be beneficial for both of us. And it'll keep me busy, so I don't set my attention... elsewhere."

Oh. 

Well, the thing was, Atemu loved to play games; he was the king of twisted, elaborate, fucked up games, where the winner was decided long before the first turn. 

And people who made veiled threats, well, those were the people he loved to play most with. 

As Atemu ponders this, his gaze falls on his queen, and Yuugi’s eyes catch his.

Atemu’s most powerful piece on the board.

Atemu keeps eye contact as Yuugi smiles at him from across the room.

“I'm free to speak with you tomorrow. What time works for you?" he says to Pegasus. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More fanart, I'm dying ----> http://yuthie00.tumblr.com/post/147582319769/drew-the-gangsta-couple-from-hikariandyamiblog-s


	3. Chapter 3

The stitch in his back has returned, fiercer this time.

Atemu sticks his chest out and presses the blades of his shoulders together. He twists his body from side to side in his new chair and feels only a temporary relief.

In response to his visible discomfort, Katsuya suggests he lead a more active lifestyle. Recommends that he spend less time in his chair and more time outdoors or at the gym.

Atemu argues that his lifestyle is plenty active as is, to which Katsuya retorts that whoring and drugging doesn’t count as activity.

The comment earns him a 6-hour field trip day with Yuugi – who has been positively _dying_ to go to the zoo.

His license having been revoked back when he drove Atemu’s car into the river, Yuugi had been unable to make the 80-minute trip to the closest zoo. 

Usually a pesky little thing such as a judge’s court order wouldn’t stop Yuugi from taking one of Atemu’s other four cars and driving without any proper identification, but Atemu had taken to locking away all his spare car keys in a safe. 

So though Yuugi wasn’t elated to have Katsuya babysit him, he wouldn’t dare pass up the opportunity to coo at all the tigers and snow leopards at the zoo.

Atemu rather enjoys the comfortable silence in the house, with the exception of Bella who is purring rather loudly by the fireplace after somehow finding her way inside his study.

Atemu orders a maid to pick the feline up and lock it away until Yuugi returns.

Fuck that cat.

 

* * *

 

_“Atemu!”_

Yuugi isn’t pleased when he returns to find Bella in the attic, so Atemu decides to lock him in there with her.

“Eh, boss?”

Atemu glances up from his spot at his desk. “What is it?” he asks. 

“I have a detective here to see you," Katsuya tells him. 

Atemu’s lips twitch at the corners and stretch into a smile. He suddenly doesn't mind the interruption. “Ah, well, send them in," he says. 

Katsuya does so, and Atemu watches as his blond subordinate bypasses the threshold of his study followed by a dark-suited detective. The new arrival's hair is the color of Atemu's desk, as are his eyes which are glazed over with skepticism and caution. His complexion is clear and several shades lighter than Atemu's own. 

“Detective Hiroto," Atemu greets, standing to his feet. He extends his hand, and the detective hesitates only a moment before accepting the superficial greeting. 

“Sennen," Hiroto says, shaking his hand firmly. He retracts his arm, and they both settle down into their respective seats across from each other. Katsuya stands quietly by the door. "It’s been a while," the detective comments. 

“I’d say so." Atemu tilts his head, a few blond strays falling over his eyes. "How’s the family these days?” he inquires.

Hiroto grunts. “I’m not here for small talk, I’m afraid. I need to ask you a few questions.”

"Right to it then?" Atemu nods, sits forward in his chair. "What is it I can do for you?"

Hiroto's voice is steady when he asks, “Do you know a man by the name of Maximillion Pegasus?”

“Indeed," Atemu says. "He is the CEO of Industrial Illusions. I’ve met him on several occasions, though our encounters have always been brief.” Atemu raises his chin. "Why do you ask?"

“Pegasus has been missing for approximately a week.”

Atemu leans back in his chair, raises an eyebrow. “Oh?” he says, and the word echoes. 

The air is still for a moment.

They watch each other, silent, before Hiroto continues. 

"He was last seen Tuesday. Witnesses place him at the Charity Banquet hosted by Kaiba Corporation. They place you there as well. Did you have any interaction with him that night?”

Hiroto wouldn't be asking this unless he already knew the answer; unless he had already spoken to people who saw them talking that evening.

“I did," Atemu answers. "Just pleasantries, however.”

Hiroto's brows furrow. He doesn't believe him, and they both know it. "You know, someone on his staff mentioned that he had plans to speak with you that night in hopes of… partnering up with what I’m sure is a legitimate business.”

Atemu frowns a bit. “I do, in fact, run a legitimate business here, Hiroto.”

“That is a conversation for another day," the detective replies. "I am more concerned right now with your whereabouts the following 24 hours after the banquet.”

Atemu appears amused, his lips scrunching as if trying to suppress a smile. “You think I had a hand in his disappearance? Of a powerful CEO in the public eye? Come now, Honda, it must be slow downtown.”

“It's Hiroto. If you could just answer the question, Sennen.”

Atemu's expression becomes thoughtful, as he gazes over at his fireplace and allows the crackling of the wood to fill the temporary silence. “Let’s see," he ponders. "I spent the next day at home, I believe. In this very study. Busy."

Hiroto doesn't bother commenting on the flimsy alibi. "Can anyone corroborate?” he asks instead. 

Atemu smiles. “Katsuya,” he says, turning only his eyes to level the blond by the door with a stare. “Bring Yuugi in, please.”

Katsuya leaves with only a nod. When he returns minutes later, its with Yuugi in tow, fresh out of the attic and looking every bit of a walking nightmare.

Hiroto’s lips fall into a tight line at the boy's emergence. “Motou.”

Yuugi’s gaze falls over the detective. “Honda,” he acknowledges with a smile like a feral cat.

The detective's spine involuntarily stiffens. “Hiroto," he corrects. "I barely recognize you without cuffs on," he adds.

Yuugi shrugs a round shoulder. “I have some in my bedroom if you prefer to see me in them.”

Hiroto flushes an angry pink and the corners of his lips practically bleed into a frown. Atemu understands Hiroto’s predicament.

Yuugi riles everybody up.

The boy does not discriminate in the nerves he grates his sharp nails against.

“Where were you last Wednesday?”

Yuugi lifts his shoulders again, but looks more annoyed than anything else. “How the fuck should I know?” he snaps, his patience thin after spending hours stowed away upstairs.

Hiroto swallows his initial retort, takes a moment to straighten his tie. "I need you to think really hard about this, Motou."

Yuugi glances at Atemu, and the elder man can envision Yuugi filing all the awful things he's spent the last two hours thinking to do to him into the 'later' folder in his head.

The boy then takes to tapping his index finger against his jaw and clicks his tongue as if he actually cares about this conversation. “Now that you mention it," he eventually says. "I’m pretty sure I was fucking Atemu right on this very desk.” He lowers his finger from his chin and presses it against the oak to make his point.

Hiroto blinks. Once. 

"All day?"

Yuugi blinks back. Twice. "Yup."

Hiroto slowly turns his head back to Atemu and locks onto his gaze. "This is seriously your alibi, Sennen?" 

Atemu shrugs and beckons Yuugi to him with a graceful curl of his fingers. "Like I said, I was very busy that day. This one takes up quite a bit of my time."

Yuugi heeds his call and comes up next to him to kiss his cheekbone. The boy whispers words into his ear that to the observer looks like sweeting nothings, but is actually Yuugi promising Atemu hell to pay once Hiroto leaves. 

"Do you have a source that's more..." Hiroto searches for the word, "reliable?"

Yuugi chuckles, standing by Atemu's side. "Ow, that hurts," the boy says, even though it doesn't. "I'm plenty reliable."

Yuugi's comment goes ignored. "Katsuya, as well as my other house staff, can vouch for my presence," Atemu responds. "I didn't leave the house once that day."

Hiroto narrows his gaze. "I'm sure they will vouch for you, indeed," he mutters. 

Atemu says nothing to that.

Yuugi puffs out a breath and suddenly finds himself very bored. 

"As much fun as this is, I would like to get back to my painting project," he says, dismissing himself from the conversation. "I'll be in my bedroom."

Yuugi smiles at them both then, blows a pretty kiss to Atemu, and leaves without another word. 

Atemu resists rolling his eyes at the display, and instead moves his gaze to meet Hiroto's. The man is still in his chair, and he appears almost comfortable, even though tension is seeping from his skin.  

"I'll be blunt, Sennen," Hiroto finally says after a few moments, his face a composite of tight lines. "I think you are lying. I think you know more than you are sharing. This wouldn't be the first time you were involved in the disappearance of a high-profile figure."

Atemu's expression turns firm, his friendly demeanor souring. "Your accusations are insulting and baseless," he tells him. 

"But what I can't figure out," Hiroto trudges on, unmoved, "is what he could've done to provoke you. As far as I can tell, he wanted to invest in your... business. So, what did he do?"

Atemu hides a grit of his teeth behind a strained smile. "I fear that your line of questioning warrants me to rescind my invitation into my home. Besides, I am a busy man, and I simply can't afford to humor the Domino Police Department all evening." Atemu pulls a business card from his pocket and slides it across his desk with two fingers. "If you wish to question me more on this matter, please contact my lawyer first. Good day, Hiroto."

Hiroto looks down at the business card, then back up at Atemu. "I will be back," he tells him, as he stands. He buttons the top of his suit jacket and turns to leave the study, business card left on the desk. Katsuya follows him out like a shadow. 

Atemu's smile drops as soon as the study empties. He takes a moment, picks up the phone on his desk and, in code, orders an extensive cleaning of Yuugi's room.

Hopefully Yuugi is almost done painting his walls red with Pegasus' blood. 

 


	4. Chapter 4

When Atemu is hit with an urge, he rarely has it for long. 

If he has a desire, then he sees to it that it be satiated immediately. His patience tolerates no less than instant gratification. 

So when he has the urge to tie Yuugi down to a bed and fuck him, he stalks to the boy's bedroom and tosses him onto the mattress.

He fucks him three times, and each time is better than the last.

Yuugi moans and trembles underneath him; he's raw and in pain - which is his most baseline pleasure. The third time he fucks him, Atemu takes him slow, thrusting deep inside of him, torturous in his pace. 

He pulls at Yuugi's silky hair, jerks the boy's head back, and bites at Yuugi's exposed neck as he pushes inside of him. He marks his territory.

By the time Atemu finishes, the sheets are filthy, and Yuugi's wrists are bruised.

Yuugi finds his his lips then, presses against them with his own, rough and open-mouthed.

Atemu lets Yuugi devour him whole. 

His urge has left him, and all that remains is Yuugi and his dark eyes of amethyst. 

 

* * *

 

Upon return to his study, Katsuya informs him that there is a woman at the front gate who has requested to meet with him. 

His curiosity piqued, Atemu instructs Katsuya to allow her entry. 

She is searched, but carries no weapons or wires, and the gentle curves of her face look out of place in this house of crime and corpses. 

Yuugi must have smelled the newcomer from rooms away, for he suddenly appears in the study, bypassing Katsuya who knows better than to try and prevent his entry. 

Atemu watches her, a gleam of intrigue in his gaze. She is a beauty with auburn hair, and her eyes are a cyan blue. She offers up her name - Anzu - and her services.

Not as an investor, but as a foot soldier.

She is such a frail-looking thing, but Atemu has long learned the mistake of underestimating people based on appearances alone.

He turns his gaze to Yuugi, who stands at his side, those narrowed violet eyes fixated on the woman who sits across from them in a modest peach blouse and black knee-length skirt. She has one leg crossed over the opposite knee, and dark heels grace her feet. 

Atemu can smell her from here.

Anzu reeks of revenge, almost as much as Yuugi does.  

Together, their scent almost overpowers the room. 

"On a trial basis, I suppose," Atemu says in response to her request to join his business.

There are only two ways the trial ever ends. 

Anzu seems to know this though - that she will either find herself a new job or find herself at the bottom of the ocean. 

"Understood," she says, the word leaving her perfectly glossed lips. 

Yuugi's jaw tightens. "You'd do better as a whore," he tells her. 

She turns to him, flicks her eyes over his frame. "As I understand it, that position is already filled," she says to him.

Yuugi is at her side in a moment, the tip of the pen from Atemu's desk at her throat. 

It is all he would need to kill her.

"Why are you really here?" Yuugi asks her, and Atemu observes the interaction, his eyes aglow with morbid interest.

Anzu barely registers the sudden threat of death, acts only as if she's surprised it had taken this long. She does not seem bothered by her own mortality.

Acknowledging the sociopath at her side and the criminal mastermind sitting across from her, she smiles at no one in particular. "I'd like to find a place among my kind," is all she says. 

Yuugi scoffs, but the stiffness in his spine leaves him. He removes the pen from the soft flesh of her neck and twirls the utensil around his fingers. "You should look elsewhere," he says to her, then he _smiles_. "There are no sheep here."

Yuugi says nothing else and leaves the study, quietly like a ghost. 

Atemu watches him go, then glances back to Anzu. "He doesn't take kindly to outsiders," he tells her. "I don't either."

"I know," Anzu responds, and she is the embodiment of composure - even after an encounter with death, himself. "But whereas Yuugi is an exterminator, you are a businessman. To expand your empire, you need the numbers. I can help you."

Atemu adjusts himself in his chair, leans over the desk, and brings his hands together in front of him, fingers interlaced. "Why should I trust you?" he questions. 

Anzu lifts her chin, and her pretty brown hair brushes past her cheeks. "You shouldn't," she replies, uncrossing her legs. She comes to stand without the invitation to do so. "Yet," she adds on, a glint in her eyes. 

Atemu looks up at her.

He presses his hands flat against his desk and uses the leverage to stand. His eyes are dark, despite the light of his desk lamp. "Katsuya will show you out," he says to her. "Please provide him with your identification and social security. When you are cleared, we will speak again."

Anzu nods, and her smooth departure is accompanied by the clicks of her heels against the floor tiles. 

Atemu stares at her as she leaves and considers instructing Katsuya to slit her throat before she exits the front doors.

He doesn't though.

 


	5. Chapter 5

It doesn't take long for Anzu to prove herself a worthy asset. 

And though she lacked in brute strength, she compensated two-fold in intelligence, efficiency, and manipulation. She could talk circles around anyone Atemu sent her to, propose deals to interested parties that increased revenue for his business operations. She held her own on the streets as well - agile, clever, and never one to panic. Her skill set was not limited to a specific area, and she performed well in all of the assignments she was delegated.

Her talents meant that Atemu had less on his plate, and that was something that he was more than willing to pay for. 

Her natural beauty was an asset as well, as she was often mistaken for just a pretty face, a notion that easily dropped guards, which Anzu would then exploit with precision.

Atemu lamented at times that she was not a whore, as he found himself attracted to the blues of her eyes and the feminine glow of her skin. 

But he supposed it was for the best.

She served him better as a soldier, anyways.

That, and the fact that Yuugi had no restrictions when it came to killing whores. 

That was important, given that Yuugi and Anzu do _not_ get along. 

Granted, Yuugi didn't get along with anyone, but it seemed that Yuugi had it out for the new addition - designated her a target of sorts.  

But he had yet to touch her, for as a club member, she was protected.  

And while Yuugi wasn't one for rules, this was _the_ rule.

When it came down to it, Atemu cared very little if Yuugi caused chaos at home or on the streets. 

But Atemu drew the line when his antics interfered with his business. 

Atemu would break every one of Yuugi's fingers if the boy ever killed a member, senior or otherwise.

Within the business, there was a hierarchy; there was order.

Not even Yuugi had a free pass when it came to Atemu's empire. 

As with everything, Yuugi had to learn this the hard way when, many years ago, he had torn into a member's esophagus with a kitchen cleaver.

Atemu had hospitalized Yuugi for weeks, the closest he'd ever come to putting him in the ground. 

Ever since then, it was the only area Yuugi had ever showed restraint, because the only thing Yuugi seemed to hate more than Anzu was hospitals. 

 

* * *

 

Bella purrs loudly from her spot in an open package box located in the corner of Atemu's study.

The businessman had discovered, after accidentally leaving the cardboard container on the floor, that the cat seemed to naturally gravitate to it.

So, Atemu left it out, only so he could contain the stupid animal to a single area and therefore did not have to worry about it wandering carelessly around his study.

Atemu shifts his glare from the cat to Yuugi, who sits on the floor, legs crossed, and plays with the feline, purple bruises at his jaw.

The colorful blotches on the boy's skin were fresh reminders of what the punishment was for being a homicidal prick.

Atemu sighs audibly. Yuugi would be a devastating asset to his entire criminal enterprise if only the boy could learn some impulse-control. 

Atemu's thoughts leave him at the sound of knocking at his study door.  

Katsuya requests entry, announcing Otogi and Anzu's return from a recon assignment.

Admission granted, the club members follow the blond inside.

Dark hair tied and sitting at the top of his head, Otogi presents himself in his signature black crop shirt and jeans, a red vest slung over his shoulders. His eyes, a rare emerald green, are weary as he steps across the threshold of the study, registering the occupants therein.

Anzu's wear is much more casual - gray sweatpants and a white hoodie. Her brown hair is tied into a ponytail at the base of her neck. She looks at ease. 

Both of the members greet Atemu with a small bow of their head. 

Yuugi does not acknowledge their presence - a rude blessing in disguise. 

"Word on the street is that Pegasus is dead," Otogi says. "Even without a body, it is being presumed that you had a hand in his abrupt demise. There is talk of potential retaliation from a few employed under Pegasus' corporation - the less legitimate branch of it."

Atemu listens, his chin lifting. "Nothing we can't handle," he says confidently. "We got a timeline?"

"Soon," Anzu says simply. "Within days."

"Okay." Atemu picks up a crystal glass from his desk, still half full of brandy. He leans back in his chair, drumming his free fingers on the oak. "Relay the following commands to Bakura. Alert the 11th precinct. Place distribution from Pier #3 on hiatus. Scatter the 4th quadrant. Have him call me with confirmation." He looks away, effectively dismissing them. "That is all."

The two accept their orders and depart without hesitation.

Katsuya follows them out, closing the door behind him.

Atemu is content in the silence that follows, but he is only allowed to enjoy it for a moment.

"I don't like her."

Yuugi doesn't look at him when he says this, eyes still fixated on Bella's sleeping face, as he pets her head. 

Atemu shoots him a look. "You don't like anybody, except that damned cat," he snaps at him.  

Yuugi stills, very suddenly. "Why do you trust her?" he questions, vowels thick with contempt. 

"I don't." Atemu finishes his drink and returns his focus to his paperwork. He hates humoring the boy, hates encouraging his stupidity, and honestly doesn't know why he does so anyways. "I don't really trust anyone. Especially you."

Yuugi laughs at this. "Liar," he mutters. 

Atemu's eyebrow tics at the accusation. _"Yuugi,"_ he warns. 

"You trust me," Yuugi continues on, ignoring the warning. He is begging for another beating at this point. 

Atemu lifts his gaze to look at Yuugi, who's standing now, cat momentarily forgotten. "Yuugi," he stresses his name again, "have you forgotten so soon that you recently tried to kill me?"

"You're still mad about that?"

Atemu's fingers twitch, and he has the brief, satisfying image of his hands around that pale throat. "It was  _last night,"_ Atemu grinds out through clenched teeth. 

Yuugi waves his right hand, and his exasperated expression says it all - _that was a whole twelve hours ago!_

"You little fucking shit," Atemu hisses at him. 

He stands, shadows in his scarlet eyes, and his hands balled into fists. 

Yuugi looks pleased at his reaction, and Atemu knows that he is enjoying the attention, the twisted little child that he is. 

 _"Atemu,"_ the boys murmurs, says the name as if it's sweet poison on his tongue.

Yuugi brings his hands to the hem of his shirt then, removes the fabric from his body to expose the black and blue patches underneath, bruises so new that they are sensitive to even the lightest touch. 

Atemu's anger subsides in seconds, as arousal takes its place.

Yuugi approaches him, and wet lips find his neck, before a delicious pink tongue trails up past his jaw to his bottom lip. 

Atemu raises his hands to wrap tightly around Yuugi's biceps. 

"Atemu..." the boy whispers again. "Let me kill her."

Atemu tsks his tongue against the roof of mouth, grips the boy tighter, enough to add more bruises. "Yuugi," he chides. "Until I give the order, she lives. Don't disobey me on this," he tells him. 

Yuugi whines then, rolls his slender hips against Atemu groin and elicits a moan from elder man. There is a hot pulse between Atemu's legs, and he wants and wants and _wants_.

"If she betrays you... " Yuugi mumbles against his lips, full of sin, lust, and everything dark. "Can I be the one to kill her?"

Atemu spins Yuugi around and pushes him back onto his desk. He is inside of him in moments, taking what is his. He crouches over Yuugi while he fucks him and exhales hotly into his ear.

"You can," he breathes. 


End file.
